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Advice for Critique Surgery

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is it only portfolio viewings?
No, you can come with any work-related problems that you want to talk about.

Do I have to be professional?
No, just serious about your work.

How far ahead do I need to book?
As early as possible, as our Critique Surgeries are a popular feature of our events programme and they frequently sell out. To ensure you can get a slot with your preferred panelist book early to avoid disappointment.

What do you want in the text you ask for?
In advance of your session we ask for 3-5 images of your work, a short biography or description of the project you want to discuss and a summary of what you want to gain from the session.

Can I just send a CV or weblink?
No, the text we ask for is much more helpful for our panelists to prepare for your session. You can attach a CV if you want but it’s not necessary.

Who will view my work?
We try to include a range of guest panelists for you to select from alongside Paul Herrmann, Director of Redeye. These panelists can include gallery curators, successful photographers and magazine editors. If you have any suggestions for who you would like to see at future Critique Surgeries please email Charlie Booth on charlie@redeye.org.uk

What kind of advice and criticism do you offer?
Our panelists are there to offer support. It is helpful for you to come with an idea of what you want from the session. If you have work in development we will try and make suggestions about where to go with it. If you particularly want a robust critique we can try and oblige.

What form should my work be in?
You can bring a portfolio, loose prints, or work on your fully-charged laptop. We can also by arrangement look at work on a USB pen drive/memory stick but please tell us in advance.

Can I bring transparencies?
Yes, but you will also need a lightbox and magnifier.

How may photos should I include?
The session is only 30 minutes long so it’s a good idea not to bring too much - it can be hard to look at more than 40 pictures in that time. A good number might be between 10 and 30 pictures.

Any special requirements for digital pictures?
They can be hard to see if they’re too small, and slow things down a lot if they’re very large. We advise bringing JPEGs sized between about 1000 to 4000 pixels in the longer dimension, with a colour profile embedded if possible. Use JPEG compression settings between 8 and 11 (approx 70 to 90%, or high quality).

Do I need anything else?
Pen and paper to note down suggestions.

What if I’m late?
You will probably lose part or all of your session if you’re late. We can’t move things around too much. It’s a really good idea to arrive early anyway in case there are any cancellations available - we will fill these up free of charge.

Why did you move my time slot?
Sorry. There are sometimes last-minute changes we can’t avoid.

What if I have to cancel?
Please try to give as much notice as you can.

What happens if I don’t show up and don’t cancel?
Please avoid this. We subsidise each place so it costs us a lot more than your ticket price.

Can I come again?
Absolutely. Please give us plenty of notice if you want the same or a different viewer.